


Discussions

by Levis_turtles



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Basically me being impatient about season 5, M/M, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-14
Updated: 2017-10-14
Packaged: 2019-01-17 07:29:52
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,396
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12360657
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Levis_turtles/pseuds/Levis_turtles
Summary: A series of short stories involving Lance and Lotor at the beginning of the terse relationship between the Banished Prince and Team Voltron.





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance convinces the rest of the team to give Lotor a chance

“Are we supposed to be taking Lotor seriously?” Hunk asked, tugging off his helmet as he walked into the lounge. “Because like, if we are taking him seriously, what are we gonna do?”

“We’re obviously not going to take him seriously, Hunk,” Allura said. She was unclipping the armoured plates from around her arms – she was always complaining about how uncomfortable they made her feel. “It’s probably a trap.”

“But we don’t know that for sure,” Pidge said. She wasn’t removing any of her uniform – Lance was beginning to think that she was enjoying showing off her Paladin status to her brother. “Objectively speaking, the benefits of an alliance with Lotor far outweigh the potential risks.”

“Right,” Lance said. “I mean, he’s already starting to benefit the team – if it wasn’t for Lotor, Keith would be dead right now. Not to mention the broadcast we overheard saying that Lotor is a fugitive now – he must have done something to piss Zarkon off, and I think we can agree that anyone who can piss Zarkon off is a perfectly worthy point of alliance.”

“No,” Shiro said, “Allura is right. We can’t trust Lotor not to be luring us into a trap.”

“Why?” Lance asked. “Because he’s made some mistakes in the past?”

“The amount of damage he has caused to us and our cause cannot be considered minor mistakes, Lance,” Allura said. “He’s hurt us in so many ways-” 

“That isn’t to say that he couldn’t change, with time.”

“I dunno, Lance,” Hunk said, rubbing at the back of his neck. “I mean, it does seem like a bit of a risk.”

“Well, of course it’s a _risk_ ,” Lance said, “but if it pays off, think about how much good we could do!”

“Statistically speaking,” Pidge chimed in again, “Lotor would be an amazing asset to the rebellion. He was the Leader of the Galra Empire for _months_ , guys – think about all the inside knowledge he must have. He would know every supply route, every nuance in their computer system. And those ships he built! Think about what we could do if we had access to some of those.”

“It does seem worth a shot,” Coran said. “But, as always Princess, I defer to you.”

Allura hummed. She said, “My family loved Zarkon once – my father treated him with respect and trust. And Zarkon betrayed that trust. I will not let Lotor do to me what his father did to mine.”

“But Lotor isn’t his father!” Lance yelled. He stood up from his seat, face growing warm when the others in the room all turned to look at him. Lance said, “Look, guys, my dad was one of the worst men I have ever met – he hurt my mother and he hurt my brothers and he hurt me, but that doesn’t mean that I have to be anything like him.”

“But Lotor-”

“Lotor was raised to believe that we were the bad guys," Lance said. "It’s just like- it's like, okay, this is going to sound a little off topic, but just hear me out, all right?

“When I was a kid, my mother told me that she met my father in the military. She had joined the army because her whole family had joined the army, and at that point is seemed like there was little else she could do. She bonded with my father because his story was exactly the same – both of his parents were captains, and his brothers were all soldiers, and so he had joined the army because it was the family business. Both of them had been taught how to use a gun when they were kids, both of them had learned to take care of themselves like soldiers.

“So anyway, when I was a kid, I watched my brothers join the army and I thought that I wanted to be just like them – my whole family, all of my cousins and my aunties and my uncles were soldiers, and it made sense that I would be, too. But then, one day, I saw someone talking on TV – a man from the Garrison, professor Gunderson – and I knew right then that I wasn’t like the rest of my family, that I didn’t want to join the army and fight wars on earth. I wanted to join the Garrison.”

“But what does this have to do with Lotor?” Allura asked. “I don’t understand.”

Lance said, “Lotor’s whole family has been fighting Voltron for years – it makes sense that Lotor would think that that was what he had to do, too. But he’s change his mind now, and I think that we should at least let him try to prove himself before we send him away.”

All around him, the team was quiet. Pidge looked contemplative, as did Shiro and Allura. Hunk was looking at Lance like he wanted to hug him and cry, and Coran was twirling his moustache like he was trying to figure out what, exactly, a ‘military’ was.

But eventually, Shiro said, “Lance is right. If Lotor is serious about wanting to join us, we should let him. And if it does turn out to be some sort of trap, we can figure it out then.”

Allura was nodding along with him. She said, “I don’t want to be known as the kind of Princess who would refuse to give someone a second chance. Lance-” Lance looked in her direction, “-Hunk-” Hunk stood at Allura’s side, “-please welcome Prince Lotor aboard.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO WHO'S EXCITED FOR SEASON 5?!?!?


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyway i'm not actually proofreading these so if i make any _glaringly obvious_ mistakes then _please_ let me know

Prince Lotor had been on the ship for about a week and, so far, he had never been alone in a room. He had been passed around the Paladin’s bedrooms at night and meticulously watched during the day, and it was becoming increasingly obvious to the Prince that while he had been welcomed aboard the ship, he was not yet trusted or even fully believed.

He had made assessments of the Paladin’s accordingly, and while he was unimpressed by most of them, there were a few that stood out to him as being entirely extraordinary.

The first of those was the Yellow Paladin, the one called Hunk. He was, as far as Lotor could tell, one of the most unappreciated of the group. He was intelligent and brave, Lotor knew that from fighting him, but in close company he could also see that the man was kind and understanding and, truly, a phenomenal cook. But to Lotor, he seemed so overlooked. The rest of the team didn’t seem to realise that if weren’t for Hunk, they would all have starved to death by now – they didn’t seem to understand that while Hunk’s expertise lay with matters that were very rarely required, he was one of the most intelligent people on board.

The second person that had caught Lotor’s attention was the man who was neither a Paladin nor an Altean – his name was Matthew, or Matt (he had been called so many different things that Lotor had no idea which one was correct) and his conduct was so strange that Lotor often found him watching him for no reason other than to learn more about what he was. He was intelligent – certainly more so than the Green Paladin, Pidge – but he let her believe that he was impressed by her inventions and observations as if he hadn’t already made them himself.

And finally was the one that had captured Lotor’s attention and held it – the Red Paladin (or was he the Blue Paladin? Again, the dynamics of this team were baffling). His name was Lance, and as far as Lotor could tell, he was the reason that Lotor had been invited aboard the ship at all. It was strange, to Lotor, that a man who had been so hurt by Lotor’s efforts to destroy Voltron and its Paladins could be so understanding, so forgiving.

Lance had been the first of the Paladins that Lotor had shared a room with, and Lotor had witnessed him arguing with the rest of the team that he should be allowed the right to a room rather than a prison cell. Lotor had been fascinated. He had watched Lance more than any of the others, noticing how frequently he displayed intelligence beyond many of the other Paladin’s understanding and kindness beyond anything Lotor had ever seen. Lance was funny, caring, interesting, and for as long as Lotor had been aboard the ship, he hadn’t been able to take his eyes off of him. 

It was one such moment now, when Lotor was preparing for his second night aboard the ship with Lance. He had spent his first night with the Paladins with Lance as well, as he was the only one brave (stupid?) enough to risk it.

Lotor had admired him for that.

The second night he had spent with Coran, the third with Shiro. The fourth night bad been spent with the one who had left the team, Keith or Kyle or something else of the like (Lotor hadn’t been fond of the way the boy had looked at him and had subsequently chosen to ignore him for eternity). He had given Lotor a blanket and told him to sleep on the floor, and had proceeded to stare at him for the entirety of the night. The fifth night had been spent with Hunk, who was prone to midnight snacks and had made Lotor some tea, and the sixth night had been spent with Matt.

But finally, the seventh night had come around, and Lotor was back to the spare bed in Lance’s room with a blanket pooled at his feet. Lance had disappeared behind a door soon after he had shown Lotor to the room, and he had yet to return. 

Not one to waste an opportunity, Lotor took the brief moment of solitude to glance around the Paladin’s room.

It was surprisingly bare, actually. There were some photographs taped to the walls – a portrait of a mermaid, a picture of Lance stood in close proximity to a group of noodly girls, a candid shot of Hunk and Pidge discussing something over a plate of food. At the side of the bed were a few books, five or six, all of them appearing to be written in different languages. But aside from that, and a few piles of clothing, the room was bare. Lotor wondered why Lance hadn’t bothered to decorate – perhaps, he thought, it was because Lance was not intending to stay in space for long. He had mentioned something about a family, people that he missed, and Lotor wondered for a moment if Lance’s plan was to return to them just as soon as Voltron’s mission was done.

For some reason, Lotor hoped not.

A moment later, the door that Lance had disappeared behind reopened, and Lance stepped back into the room. He had changed out of his day clothes and was now wearing pyjamas, and in his hand was a pot of something thick and green.

“Anyway,” Lance said, stepping far enough into his bedroom that the door slid closed behind him, “I’m about to put a face pack on, and I was wondering if you wanted some too.”

“Oh,” Lotor said. He blinked up at Lance, who was too busy unscrewing the bottle in his hands to notice the way that Lotor’s lips were starting to curl up at the corners. Ducking his chin to hide his smile, he said, “Yes, thank you.”

“Okay,” Lance said. He crossed the room then, surprising Lotor by sitting down in front of him. He folded his legs in front of him and Lotor shifted to do the same, leaving just enough room between them for Lance to set the little pot down. Once he was settled, Lotor looked up, and caught Lance staring at him. Lance smiled when he met Lotor’s eyes, but said nothing before he dipped his fingers into the pot and smeared a streak of it down the side of Lotor’s face.

The Prince allowed himself a moment of concern that this ‘face pack’ could be poison. He didn’t know what was in it, he didn’t know how it would affect him, but somehow, after only a moment of panic, the fear went away. Lotor thought, _no, that isn’t right._ He thought, _this is Lance, he wouldn’t hurt me._ He thought, _I’m safe here._

Lotor didn’t know how it had happened – he had only known the Paladin for a week – but he was already beginning to feel safe in his presence. Lotor wasn’t usually so trusting or so relaxed, but there was something about Lance that defied all reason, that made Lotor feel so at ease that he could hardly believe that he hadn’t known Lance his entire life.

When Lance was done, Lotor nodded. “Thank you,” he said. 

“It’s okay, man. Listen, you’ve got to keep that on all night, but in the morning, don’t try to remove it without me. There’s a trick to it and I’ll have to show you first, okay?”

“Yes,” Lotor said, “of course. I am well aware that I am not permitted to do anything without supervision.”

“What?” Lance asked. Then, astonishingly, he laughed. He had a beautiful laugh. Lance said, “Dude, it’s not because I don’t trust you to do it yourself, its because it can be really messy if you don’t do it right. I wouldn’t want you to get green goo all up in your hair or anything.”

And then, without warning, Lance reached out his hand and tucked a strand of pale hair behind Lotor’s ear. Lotor felt his face heating up, felt his ears growing warm, and he was suddenly grateful for the green goo that was obscuring his blush.

Again, he said, “Oh.” It seemed to Lotor that the more time he spent with Lance, the more frequently he was finding himself struck speechless. He said, “I apologise for making assumptions. It was not my intention to offend you.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Lance said, shrugging a shoulder casually. “You’re in a new place, surrounded by new people – it makes sense that you’d be a little apprehensive at first.”

“Quite,” Lotor said, not completely understanding why _he_ was the apprehensive party in this situation and not Lance. He did not voice his thoughts, however, and nothing else was said for the remainder of the night.


End file.
